Its that time of the year again! The big came has come and gone and the internet is buzzing with the usual post-superbowl stories: the game (what the flipping pancakes were you thinkin’ Pete Carroll!?!?!) , the half time show (how ’bout that gold lion and dancing sharks?), and of course the commercials. Now, there was obviously a ton of commercials but here we only care about ads of the automotive variety. With that filter in place it narrows things down to 11 ads this year which is about two more than last year. What does that mean? Not much really as some of the contenders had more than one spot. For example Toyota ran two different spots for the new Camry while Lexus ran a spot for their new NX SUV and for the new RC 350 coupe. As you may or may not remember it was the Chevrolet spot “Life” which won first place last year because of its powerful emotional message. All the other OEMs must’ve taken notes because many of this year’s spots were attempts to pull at the heart strings. Some worked some didn’t.

So, which spots made it to our fresh three this year? Let’s find out!

Third Place: “How Great I Am” – Toyota

Its hard to argue with a commercial with its main theme being the spirit of human perseverance. This spot gives the audience a glimpse at the life of world class snowboarder Amy Purdy, a double amputee who refuses to let something like losing her legs stop her from doing what she wants to do while being completely awesome at it. All of this is shown over the famous Muhammad Ali speech “How Great I Am”. Its hard to go wrong with butt kicking women and Muhammad Ali so with that Toyota makes it into the Fresh Three.

Second Place: “Wisdom” – Dodge

Some of the best car commercials actually don’t seem to be car-centric at first and then they find a way to tie their theme together with the brand message and it turns out awesome. That is exactly what happened in Dodge’s “Wisdom” spot. It starts with Centenarians (people who are 100 years old or older) imparting gentle words of well, wisdom. At first things are sweet and heart felt with suggestions like “live for now” and “always tell the truth”. Then things get edgy as Dorothy Titleman (Born 1914) recommends to “keep your eyes open and sometimes your mouth shut!” Que the guitar riffs, Dodge Challenger burn outs, and it only gets better from there!

First Place: “With Dad” – Nissan

Congratulations Nissan! Your “With Dad” spot is officially our pick for the best car commercial of Super Bowl XLIX and the winner of Hype Bowl 2015! “With Dad” tells the story of a father who works as a journeyman racer for Nissan. He works his way up the motorsports ladder and has success, but the constant time away from his young son takes its toll on him and his family but he pushes on to continue supporting his wife and son. It’s a bit cheesy and a bit unrealistic but it still manages to hit all the right emotional buttons while showcasing excellently filmed cinematic racing with cars like the 370Z and GT-R. Then it earned a ton of bonus points by debuting Nissan’s new GT-R LM NISMO LMP1 race car AND the next Nissan Maxima. All in all its an emotional commercial that is still manages to add action, and Easter eggs for enthusiasts. More than enough to be worthy of the title!

Honorable mentions (just click the titles in the red text to be taken to the commercials)

“My Bold Dad” – Toyota. Another father-themed commercial, this Camry spot by Toyota is more of a tear-jerker than Nissan’s spot but without being sappy. This one will get you, especially if you have a daughter!

“Lets Play” – Lexus. This is one of the first official commercials for the new Lexus RC 350 coupe. Its very simple but does a great job of getting its point across in a fun and creative way featuring some stunt driving in an RC car (as in Radio Control) and in a “RC” car as in Lexus RC thanks to Sam Hubinette. The odd thing is this commercial isn’t listed as a “Super Bowl” commercial even though it aired during the game while the other Lexus commercial (for the NX SUV) is. We think that was a big mistake on Lexus’ part. They definitely should have led with this!

“The Perfect Getaway” – Kia. This spot for the Kia Sorrento starts off a bit slow but builds up to some decent laughs as ex-James Bond Pierce Brosnan gets pitched to star in a Kia commercial that seems mundane at first but ends in “fireworks.” Watch it and you’ll see what we mean.

Well, that does it! Those are our favorite commercials of the Super Bowl. You may notice that none of the European brands made it to the list. Unfortunately, didn’t really bring it as well as they have in the past. Some were no-shows all together like crowd favorites Audi and VW. Mercedes and BMW showed up to the party, but unfortunately they ended up being the weird guy at the party that you wish you didn’t start a conversation with. You will see what we mean when you see our post for the worst ads! Stay tuned!